Actually Critical Mass Riders Do Care

This is The Winnipeg Sun's Letter of the Day for today, followed by my response.

They simply don't care

I respect those people who choose to use a bicycle over a car. It's good for their health and for the environment, so ultimately it's good for everyone's health!

However, blocking traffic does not promote a healthy lifestyle. What it does do, however, is it tells everyone that the organizers of "Critical Mass" do not care that some people have to travel a great distance to get to work. It shows that they don't care that someone has a job interview to get to, or that someone else is unable to walk to get their groceries. It shows that they don't care that somebody's going to be late for a date, or a wedding, or a birth or a funeral. It shows that they don't care that my friend who is a courier for the hospital is late for a blood supply delivery or that someone has to suffer in pain because he's late with their medication. It shows me that they don't even care if an ambulance is late, which tells me they don't care if someone lives or dies.

If you break the law, then you should get a ticket. If you break 10 laws, then you should get 10 tickets.

I respect people who promote healthy living. I do not respect people who break the law and show they don't care.

David Hansen

Winnipeg

(Editor's dumb comment: Our roadways are not playgrounds.)

Letter writer David Hansen (“They Simply Don’t Care,” Aug. 23) says “Critical Mass” cyclists show nothing but disrespect and disregard for their fellow citizens by holding a monthly rally in celebration of the freedom to ride. He seems to think that riders join in this demonstration only to thumb their noses at the authorities and put fellow citizens in life threatening circumstances. First of all he should lighten up on the hyperbole—nobody is going to die because they were forced to miss a green light on the way to a job interview at 5 pm on a Friday, or because a courier was late getting to the hospital with a supply of blood. These are not even reasonable arguments.

Secondly, he should note that many riders attend this rally precisely because they do care. They care about the environment, they care about the rights of those who wish to cycle as their main form of transportation. My aim as a participant in the last “Critical Mass” was not to mock motorists and flaunt the law. I went because I believed that our reliance on single-passenger vehicles needs to be questioned, and because I believe in the rights of future generations to inherit a sustainable and healthy planet. I didn’t go to protest people who are unable to walk to the grocery store, I went because I love my city, and I care about its future; and I am absolutely positive I was not the only one.